Care-A-Lot Pet Supply to build new store in Virginia Beach

Care-A-Lot Pet Supply plans to build its third Hampton Roads store on Indian River Road near Lake James in Virginia Beach.

Care-A-Lot, a national distributor of pet products based in the city, started 22 years ago as a catalog company and grew into online commerce. It had just one brick-and-mortar store on Diamond Springs Road, then expanded to Newport News in 2005, and a year later built a larger store across the street from its first one.

At about 20,000 square feet, the new store will cover a similar footprint as both the other Care-A-Lots, said Bobby Clarke, Care-A-Lot's president. It is scheduled to open this fall.

The retailer paid $1 million for 2.53 acres one mile east of Interstate 64, between Centerville Turnpike and Kempsville Road, according to S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co., which represented the seller, IRRA LLC. John Lee & Associates Inc. represented Clarke.

The economic slowdown left sales about flat between 2009 and 2010, said Clarke, who founded the company with his father. Sales have picked up this year over the same time last year, he said, and he expects continued improvement.

"We're looking at the future," he said, adding, "I want to open another store in two years."

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